Contemplative Bible Reading

Exodus 31:14 (New Living Translation) You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community. Let’s correct a common fallacy. The Sabbath day was NOT a day that the […]

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Exodus 14:14 (New Living Translation) The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. Everyone has their own version of the “Stay Calm and…” saying these days. Here is one from when the people were about to be pushed to their deaths in the Red Sea. So we have… Keep Calm and Let the […]

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Exodus 32:5-6 (New Living Translation) 5 Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the Lord!” 6 The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with […]

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2 Samuel 12:29-30 (New Living Translation) 29 So David gathered the rest of the army and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it. 30 David removed the crown from the king’s head, and it was placed on his own head. The crown was made of gold and set with gems, and […]

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Genesis 37:26-27a (New Living Translation) 26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? … 27 let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. What gain is there in murdering our brother? Let’s sell him instead. At least that brings us some spending money. What? Well, at least they were…No, this […]

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Ezra 1:2 (New Living Translation) “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Strange words coming from the King of Persia, you know, one of […]

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Ezra 7:26 (New Living Translation) Anyone who refuses to obey the law of your God and the law of the king will be punished immediately, either by death, banishment, confiscation of goods, or imprisonment. This is part of a letter from a Gentile ruler to Ezra, a Jew. Note the last word, imprisonment. God’s law, […]

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Luke 1:34 (New Living Translation) Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” This is a familiar verse and a familiar (hi)story. This little phrase summarizes much of our relationship to God. Really, God. You can do that? Yes, God can. Yes, God has, over and over. Yet, we continue […]

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John 10:24 (New Living Translation) The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” The people didn’t know—for sure. The people wanted to know—at least they claimed to want to know. Hey Jesus, hit us with a baseball bat (again, […]

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